In response to comments Wednesday by President Trump, NEA President Lily Eskelsen García said bringing guns into schools “does nothing to protect” our students and educators from gun violence.

“Our students need more books, art and music programs, nurses and school counselors; they do not need more guns in their classrooms,” Eskelsen García said after Trump, in a listening session at the White House, proposed to arm teachers and school staff in an attempt to prevent mass shootings.

“Parents and educators overwhelmingly reject the idea of arming school staff. Educators need to be focused on teaching our students. We need solutions that will keep guns out of the hands of those who want to use them to massacre innocent children and educators. Arming teachers does nothing to prevent that,” Eskelsen García said.

“We owe it to the students and school personnel who’ve lost their lives at schools and on campuses across the country to work together so that we can thoughtfully and carefully develop common sense solutions that really will save lives.”

Also on Wednesday, the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association issued this statement:

Meanwhile, just days after the tragic school shooting in Florida, Wisconsin Representative Jesse Kremer (R-Kewaskum) began circulating a proposal called the Private School Carry Act. The bill would allow anyone with a concealed-carry license to carry a gun on school grounds, and, if the school board passes a policy, those guns could be concealed-carried into buildings. Under the proposal, if a school district doesn’t allow it and someone forgets they have a gun strapped to their ankle or other part of their body, the penalty is decreased to a forfeiture, instead of the current felony.